Acetylene lamp



W. J. FRiSBlE.

ACETYLENE LAMP.

APPLICATION 'FILED MAY 3. 1920.

' 1 1 7 1 4 l a Patented Feb. 2 1, 1922.

$1M" mum terfered with.

I i 3'. FEISBIE, OF CHICAGO; ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JUSTRIT'E 'llIAlQ'TJ'FAG- TUBING COANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ACETYLENE LAMP.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM J. FRISBIE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook, State nism for controlling and governing the flow of water from the water container to the carbide in the carbide cup.

My invention is particularly useful in connection with valve structures involving a valve plug or head at the lower end of a valve stem, which stem is operable from the exterior of the lamp to adjust the outlet area between the plug or head and the lower end of the tube through which water flows from the water container to the carbide cup. As

the water-is received by the carbide, the car-' bide becomes slaked and moist and expands,-

and is compressed around the valve head and the lower end of the water tube and tends to choke off the flow of water toward the unslaked carbide. In prior valve structures of this class, the valve head is of transverse circular crosssection and when this form of head isturned it cannot accomplish breaking up or agitation or stirring of the accumulated carbide sludge, so that with such structure the pro er flow of gas is soon inne of the important objects of my invention is to make the valve head of irregular form, that is, to make it polygonal, or provided with projections so that when the valve stem is turned, the head will cut and push aside and thoroughly stir up the sludge around the end of the water tube so as to open up channels forthe flow of the discharged water to the unslaked carbide.

When the valve structure outlet is open to the flow of water and gas is generated under pressure in the carbide cup, some of the accumulated sludge is apt to be forced up into the water tube'and between the tube end and the valve head, so that proper seating of the valve will be interfered with. Another important object of my invention is, therefore, to provide a uide neck or extension on the valve head which engages with the inner side of the water tube to hold the head in perfect axial alinement at all times so that as the head is moved back and forth in the .direction of the tube axis to adjust for Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 21, 1%)22. Application filed may a, i

1920. Serial No. 378,415.

the flow of water, the valve head seat will always be parallel with the seating surface at the lower end of the water tube, and so that when the valve stem is turned, these surfaces will engage uniformly with each other to be cleaned by the frictional engagement. In my improved construction the valve head with its guide neck is a unitary structure having preferably detachable threaded engagement with the lower end of the valve stem so as to simplify the construction and assembly of the valve structure.

The above and other features of my invention will be clearly understood from the following specification and in connection with the accompanying drawing, on which draw- 1ng-- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a miners cap lamp with parts broken away to show the construction and assembly,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the lower end of the valve stem with the valve head thereon and with the lower end of the water tube in vertical diametral section Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3, Fig. 2, to show the valve head in plan and Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical diametral view of the upper end of the water tube and valve stem showing the means for longitudinall adjusting said stem.

T e lamp structure shown comprises the cylindrical water container 5 having the reflector 6 forming one end wall thereof, and a hook 7 and a clip 8 at the other end thereof for adapting the lamp to be supported from a miners cap. The water container has also the filler opening 9 closed by a cap 10. Projecting into the water container from the bottom thereof is the internally-threaded socket 11 for receiving the threaded neck 12 of the carbide cup 13, the gasket 14;- being received between the shoulder 15 of the carbide on and the flange 16 on the socket 11. Exten ing through the water container and leading from the upper end of the socket 11 through and to the exterior of the reflector 6 is the gas tube 17 in whose outer end is the burner tip 18, such tip extending axially with reference to the reflector. In front of the inlet of the tube 17, filter material 19 such as felt end to the top wall of the water container as clearly shown in Fig. 4. When the carbide cup is applied the water tube extends well down into the cup to be embedded. in carbide placed therein. Just above the floor of the water container the tube has the water inlet opening 22 through which water flows into the tube from the water container.

Extending through the water tube 21 is the valve stem 23 which at its upper end has the threaded enlargement 24 for. engaging with the internal thread 25 at the upper end of the water tube, a lever 26 extending laterally from the top of the stem by means of which it can be readily turned. The end of the lever is turned downwardly and inwardly to form a spring tongue 27 yieldingly looking the lever in adjusted position between the b'un'fp's orbeads 28 formed'in the top of the water container. As the lever is swung and the valve stem turned the stem will be given longitudinal movement in the water tube.

The lower end of the water tube is in a plane at right angles to the tube axis and on the inside is beveled to form the conical seat 29. At the lower end of the valve stem 23 is the valve head 30 which has the conical projection 31 whose conical side cooperates with the seat. 29 on the water tube to control the flow of water as the stem is shifted-longitudinally. When the valve head is shifted away from the tube end the water flows downwardly alopg the sides of'the conical top 31 and then along the Hat upper" side 32 of the valvehead to be projected radially into the carbide cup and the carbide therein, the end of the tube and the valve head being near the bottom of the carbide cup to be embedded in the carbide. As the water is taken up by the carbide, the carbide is slaked and if the water cannot flow quickly away after leaving the water tube, it will mix with the slaked carbide or ash and form a sludge which accumulates around the valve head and at the tube outlet and this sludge tends to prevent the distribution of the water to the unslaked carbide.- In order to break up and stir up the sludge so as to open up channels for the-flow of water to the unslaked carbide, I make the valve head of irrgular shape, the head shown on the drawing being rectangular in diametral cross section, this shape providing the projections or corners33 whlch engage with the sludge when the valve stem is turned and break and stir it up and force it away from the tube outlet. The head could, of course, be of other polygonal form or otherwise provided with agitating projections. As the carbide becomes slaked, acetylene gas is generated and as the outflow of such gas to the burner tip is retarded by the filter material 19, the gas in the carbide cup will be under pressure and this pressure will tend to force sludge amet upwardly into the lower end of the water tube. The water however tends to wash such sludge downwardly again along the conical side of the top 31, and as turning of the valve stem and valve head causes the sludge to be stirred up and pushed aside by the projections 33, the outflowing water is free to wash any sludge ofi of the top of the valve head and radially outwardly from the flat upper surface 32. -The top of the valve head is therefore kept clear.

in order to insure proper axial alinement of the valve head and its conical seat with reference to the tube and its seat 29, I provide guide projections 34 on the valves head above its conical top 31, these projections engaging with the inner side of the tube 29 to keep the valve head in axial alinement therein during longitudinal shifting of the valve stem and adjustment of the water outlet area. As shown, a rectangular neck 35 above the conical top 31 grovides by its corners the projections 34:.

etween the corners are the passageways 36 for the flow of water. The valve head together with its top 31 and the neck 35 is a unitary structure and is preferably detachably secured to 'the end of the stem by being threaded thereto as clearly shown in .Fig. 2. This arrangement facilitates construction of the valve mechanism and its assembly.

Before preparing the lamp for operation, the valve stem is turned toengage the conical section 31 of the valve head with the valve seat 29 and the water container is then filled with water through the filler opening 9. Carbide is then charged in the carbide cup and the cup screwed into the socket 11, the end of the tube and the valve head then becoming embedded in the carbide. The lever 26 is now turned to shift the stem downwardly and to open water passageway between the valve head and seat 29. Water flows into the tube through the inlet hole 22, and as the valve stem is of considerably less diameter than the tube, water can flow freely down through the tube and through the valve outlet to be distributed and to run along the conical surface of the section 31 and then radially outwardly along the flat surface 32 of the valve head. If sludge should form around the water outlet and insufiicient distribution of water to the unslaked carbide result, insufiicient gas will be delivered to the burner tip and the flame will shorten. The workman can then turn the lever 26 back and forth several times to cause the projections or corners 33 to engage with, break up and stir up the accumulated sludge to again open up the passageway for the proper distribution of water. lif the pressure becomes too great, excess gas will flow upwardly through the water outlet passageway and into the tube and from there through the hole 22 into the water container and to the exterior through the vent opening 37 provided in the cap 10. The column of water in the water tube must, of course, be overcome by the gas pressure before gas can thus escape, and the pressure of the gas at the burner tip is thus automatically regulated.

Should any sludge or ash find its way between the conical surfaces 31 and 29, it will be ground up when these surfaces are brought together and relatively rotated when the lever 26 is turned, the crushed material being then readily washed from between the surfaces by the outflowing water. The guide projections 34 engaging against the inner wall ofthe tube 21 will keep the valve head in properaxial alinement and will therefore keep the conical surfaces in proper axial alinement so that the annular water passageway is of uniform area throughout and the conical surfaces will engage with uniform pressure during turning of the valve stem. There is, therefore, no chance! for unequal wearing and the water is deflected uniformly toward the carbide in the cup.

I thus produce a very simple and practical valve structure which efliciently controls the proper distribution of water to carbide in the carbide cup andv thereby insures continuous uniform gas pressure at the burner tip during the entire operation of a lamp on a charge of carbide. -I do not desire to be limited to the exact construction, arrangement and operation shown and described as modifications could be resorted to which would come within the scope of the invention.

I claim as follows:

1. In an acetylene lamp, the combination of a water container and a carbide container, a tube extending from said water container into the carbide container, the lower edge of said tube being beveled to form a conical valve seat, a valve stem extending through said tube, a valve head on said stem below said tube end, means for turning said stem and shifting it longitudinally in said tube, a neck on said head engaging with the interior of said tube for maintaining said head in axial alinement with said tube, said neck having passageways therethrough for the flow of water, a conical shoulder between said head and neck affording a conical seat for cooperating with said conical valve seat, and projections on said head for engaging with unslaked carbide when said stem is turned to break up said carbide and afford channels for the flow of water to the unslaked carbide.

2. In an acetylene lamp, the combination of a water container and a carbide container, a water feed tube extending from the water contain'en into the carbide container and communicating with the water container, the lower end of said tube forming a valve seat, a stem extending into said tube, a valve head on said stem having a valve surface for engaging with said valve seat, means for rotating and axially shifting said stem to adjust the water outlet passageway between said valve surface and valve seat, and lateral projections on said valve head, said valve head being positioned outside of and below the water feed tube and below the carbide level so that said projections are at all times exposed to the carbide around the tube whereby when said stem is turned said projections. will engage with and break up the carbide around the tube end to provide passageways for the water.

3. In an acetylene lamp, the combination of a water container and a carbide container, a water feed tube extending from the water container into the carbide container and communicating with the water container, the lower end of said tube forming a valve seat, a stem extending into said tube, a valve head on said stem having a valve surface for engaging with said valve seat, means for giving said stem combined rotary and longitudinal movement to control the outlet for water between said valve seat and valve surface, said head being outside of and below said water feed tube and below the carbide level to be fully'exposed at its sides to the carbide in the carbide container, and sharp projections on said head for breaking up and displacing the carbide when said stem is turned to thereby open up passageways for the flow of water to more remote carbide.

4. In'an acetylene lamp, the combination of a water container and a carbide container, a water feed tube extending from the water container into the carbide container and communicating with the water container, the lower end of said tube forming'a valve seat, a stem extending into said tube, a valve head on the lower end of said stem having a valve surface for engaging with said valve seat, means for giving said stem combined rotary and longitudinal movement to thereby control the outfiow of water from between said valve seat and valve surface, said head being of polygonal transverse cross section to thereby provide projections, said head being outside of and below said water feed tube and below the carbide level to be fully exposed to carbide accumulations at the end of said tube whereby when said stem and head are turned said projections will break up the accumulated carbide and provide paths for the fiow of water to the more remote carbide.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 30th day of April, A. D., 1920.

WILLIAM J. FRISBIE. 

